Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

It’s Official: PayPal to Acquire Crypto Custodian Curv

The leading payment processor, PayPal, announced today that it has agreed to purchase the digital asset custody company, Curv. It said that it will complete the acquisition in the first quarter of the year.　　Rumors Confirmed True As PayPal Acquire Curv　　Reports surfaced last week that PayPal was planning to acquire cryptocurrency security firm, Curv. There were no concrete evidence to buttress the claims, but the leading payment giants have now made it official via a press release today.　　The companys decision to purchase Curv reaffirms its mandate to remain closely knitted to the digital asset space and become a major player in the rapidly changing financial world. According to the statement released on its website, PayPal said the rationale behind its latest acquisition is “to accelerate and expand its initiatives to support cryptocurrencies and digital assets.”　　PayPals blockchain, crypto, and digital currencies vice president and general manager, Jose Fernandez da Ponte had a few words to say about the latest addition.　　“The acquisition of Curv is part of our effort to invest in the talent and technology to realize our vision for a more inclusive financial system. During our conversations with Curv‘s team, we’ve been impressed by their technical talent, entrepreneurial spirit, and the

2021-03-09Deep Dive

South Korean Crypto Transactions Command an Average of $7 Billion per Day on Domestic Exchanges

An investigation unveiled a growing fever among crypto traders in South Korea, who actively transact cryptocurrencies every day. Local media outlets are returning to adopt the term“crypto fever”as the recent billion-dollar figures confirm such a trend.　　Figures Are Now Higher Than 2018　　According to the report made by Dong-A, a major South Korean newspaper, domestic crypto investors transacted around $7 billion per day in the period ranging from January 1 to February 25, 2021.　　Kim Byeong-wook, a parliamentary member of the Democratic Party, compiled the numbers by extracting data from Bithumb, Upbit, Korbit, and Coinone, the most prominent local crypto exchanges.　　Per the study, 42% of the average volume was traded on the KOSPI stock exchange. The newspaper pointed out that this is the first time that investors statistics of the four major South Korean crypto exchanges see the light.　　In the same period, the study showed that users of the four exchanges transacted approximately $395 billion. Such a number is well above the 2020 figure of $315.5 billion. Dong-A detailed that South Koreans aged 20-39 are the ones who have been allocating thousands of dollars recently on crypto investments.　　Tesla and Paypal Helping to Fuel the Interest Towards Cryptos　　The newspaper explained the reasons behind the

2021-03-09Deep Dive

The Blockchain: Understanding Transaction Throughput on the Distributed Ledger

Cryptocurrencies manage to garner more users to trade and secure sufficient incomes every day. Consequently, the number of digital assets on the market continues to surge as the cumulative number of cryptocurrencies surpasses the 7900 mark. However, as more investors engage with digital currencies, establishing an effective transactional system is necessary for the crypto ecosystem to thrive. Blockchain technology plays a significant role in ensuring the global remittance system remains a practical and fair advancement.　　Commonly known as a distributed ledger, blockchains act as the bridge between two transacting parties on a digital currency platform.　　The Underlying Relationship Between Blockchains and Transactions　　In classification, blockchains are typically public records of every cryptocurrency transaction. The tamper-proof ledger consists of blocks attached to a distinct chain, which later form blockchains. Unlike centralized platforms, which operate as per the central authority, blockchains are decentralized since no one owns the network.　　The public ledger functions 24/7, finishing transaction confirmation processes within the shortest time possible. Intermediaries are known to be costly most times as they render their services on behalf of users.　　For cryptocurrencies leveraging blockchain technology, transactions go through successfully without any third-party engagements. Security threats are not an issue since the transaction details scatter across various nodes(validators).　　A

2021-03-09Deep Dive

State Street Would Be the Fund Administrator for VanEck’s Pending Bitcoin ETF

Boston-based State Street would act as the fund administrator and transfer agent for a 比特币 (BTC, +1.33%) exchange-traded fund (ETF) for which investment manager VanEck is seeking approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).　　Should the SEC approve the ETF, State Street would provide services including ETF basket operations, custody of the ETF shares, fund accounting, order taking and transfer agency, the global custodian announced on Tuesday.　　On Monday, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) filed a Form 19b-4, announcing its intention to list shares of VanEcks bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The form starts a regulatory review process that could lead to the first approved bitcoin ETF in the U.S.　　State Street has served as an administrator for VanEck‘s Australia ETF business since 2016. VanEck’s Ireland-, Netherlands- and U.S.-based ETFs are also administered by State Street.　　“”We are pleased to continue expanding our relationship with VanEck to support [its] innovative advancements in the ETF market; including the VanEck Bitcoin Trust, Nadine Chakar, head of State Street Global Markets, said in a press release.　　“The work we have underway with VanEck is another example of State Street continuing to deliver on our broader strategy of building out the crypto and digital assets ecosystem, which

2021-03-08Deep Dive

UNI surges 50% in one week, becomes first DeFi DApp token in crypto’s top 10

The native token of leading decentralized exchange Uniswap has surged by nearly 50% this week, ranking UNI as the eighth-largest crypto asset with a $17.7 billion market cap as speculation builds for the exchanges coming V3 overhaul.　　Messari currently ranks UNI as the -second-largest Ethereum-based asset by market cap behind Tether, beating out the Chainlink by nearly 50% of its capitalization.　　UNI broke into the top 10 on March 5, becoming the first native token of a DeFi DApp to hold the distinction. In 24 hours, UNI‘s capitalization increased from $8.8 billion on March 4 to $14.7 billion, according to CoinMarketCap’s historic snapshots.　　The price of UNI is currently consolidating near yesterdays all-time high above $34, with the token last trading hands for $33.9.　　Uniswaps initial token distribution saw UNI tokens airdropped proportionally to liquidity providers, in addition to 400 tokens being sent to every wallet that interacted with the DEX as of September 2020. As of this writing, 400 UNI are worth $13.560.　　UNI‘s entrance into crypto’s top 10 follows a record month for trade volume on the exchange, with February hosting four consecutive records for weekly Uniswap trade — culminating in a monthly all-time high of $31.9 billion in volume.　　However, Uniswap‘s streak of

2021-03-08Deep Dive

The number of BTC held on exchanges crashed 20% in 12 months

Data from on-chain crypto information aggregator Glassnode indicates the number of Bitcoin held on centralized exchanges has fallen by roughly 20% in 12 months.　　The data suggests investors are accumulating BTC and withdrawing them from exchanges into cold storage, creating a supply crunch.　　On March 6, Glassnode also shared data revealing that coins purchased during 2021 were not moved at a loss during the late February dip, according to on-chain analysis.　　The firm‘s “Hodlwaves” metric, which measures the time since coins were last movedon-chain, also points to increasing accumulation activity. Hodlwaves data published on Feb. 22 indicated 57% of Bitcoin’s supply has not moved in more than one year. However, more than one-third of said BTC have not moved in more than five years, suggesting that a significant portion of the coins may have been lost.　　The increasing popularity of decentralized exchanges and DeFi yield protocols may also be driving the diminishing supply of BTC on centralized exchanges.　　Evidencing strong demand for Bitcoin in the DeFi ecosystem, the total value locked, or TVL, of BTC tokenization protocol Wrapped Bitcoin has increased by more than $1 billion since the start of March, according to DeFi Llama.　　Wrapped Bitcoin TVL: DeFi Llama

2021-03-08Deep Dive

Leading DeFi Protocol EasyFi Expands to Binance Smart Chain

The runaway success of Binance Smart Chain has helped propel the exchange‘s utility token to the top of the crypto market top ten, and has attracted some of the industry’s top projects to the chain already.　　The latest project to expand to Binance Smart Chain is leading DeFi protocol EasyFi. Heres how this latest move by EasyFi Protocol will benefit crypto investors, the project, and the ecosystem itself.　　EasyFi Protocol Integrates Binance Smart Chain Support　　Although Ethereum remains the most dominant foundational blockchain layer in the crypto market today, like any emerging technology there are challenges and limitations that developers are rushing to address.　　While Ethereum introduces scalability upgrades, DeFi applications, tokens, and stablecoins have begun to expand to additional chains, such as Polygon, or the ultra-hot Binance Smart Chain.　　The latest project to expand to Binance Smart Chain, is EasyFi Protocol and the $EASY token. EasyFi Network is a universal second-layer lending protocol currently shaking up the DeFi space. The integration was done to create new opportunities with the DeFi sector, and enable faster, more efficient transactions. The added interoperability will benefit the ecosystem and investors alike.　　EasyFi Protocol‘s $EASY token will now be available as an ERC20 token, as well as a BEP20 token

2021-03-08Deep Dive

How DAFI Protocol Rewards Long-Term Token Holders and Supports Sustainable Project Growth

As more cryptocurrency projects are beginning to understand firsthand, keeping key stakeholders and early investors involved in a projects ecosystem long-term is tough. With increasing speculation around new blockchain networks, specifically DeFi-focused platforms, cryptocurrencies can see instant price growth as they hit the market. With these profits too high for early investors to forgo, the people who supported the project earliest can end up cashing out, which is bad for the overall ecosystem.　　DAFI Protocol has come up with an innovative solution to this problem, rewarding long-term users with a metric-based reward structure that allows new crypto projects to maintain their original community over time.　　Synthetic Tokens Are the Answer　　DAFI Protocols solution revolves around synthetic tokens, or newly minted tokens produced to represent the value of other assets. Using synthetic tokens, new projects can deposit a portion of their total supply into the DAFI protocol. Following the deposit, synthetic tokens representing ownership rights to the original coins will be minted and distributed to holders. These tokens are not tradable, meaning original token holders cannot monetize these synthetic tokens while they hold them. Their only use is exchanging back for the initial token after a predetermined time period runs out.　　This may seem like

2021-03-08Deep Dive

Report: Chainlink May Eventually Eclipse Bitcoin

Chainlink is making waves in the crypto and blockchain industry, and now a report by Citi Group is suggesting something even more interesting. According to the report released earlier in the week, Chainlink is on its way to dethroning Bitcoin as the most prominent blockchain network.　　The report goes on to opine that in less than a decade from now, Chainlink could become the most favored cryptocurrency instead of Bitcoin in the international business arena.　　“Developers that utilize the Chainlink network pay with the protocols native token, LINK. Thus, a token that helps to facilitate the growth of the on-chain ecosystem may also gain prominence over Bitcoin in time as it becomes increasingly critical to the operation of the blockchain infrastructure”　　Citi Group thinks of Bitcoin as the guiding compass for the future full-blown evolution of crypto commerce. In this case, Chainlink is well-set as the immediate beneficiary.　　Recognized By WEF　　For one, Chainlink recently won the recognition of the WEF (World Economic Forum) as one of the top 100 tech pioneers in the year 2020. Thats a pretty huge boost coming from a reputable body respected the world over.　　Chainlink has been employing its resources in the development and expansion of its network to attract

2021-03-08Deep Dive

Generational Theory and The Historical Significance of Bitcoin

In a recent piece for CNN, journalist Kaya Yurleff made a rather startling announcement: emojis are dead…well, more or less. Says who？ Generation Z, that‘s who. Colloquially known as zoomers, these trendsetters were born between the years of 1996 and 2010. Everything lives, and everything dies. And emojis, we’re told, are on the way out. Times like these call for a yellow face sporting a slight frown, shedding a single, blue tear from one eye. Zoomers, however, would not approve.　　Ostensibly, what we are witnessing here is the exorcism of emojis from society. On closer inspection, though, what we‘re really witnessing is a generational shift, a shift in conceptual frameworks and cultural narratives. Can such shifts be used to explain bitcoin’s prominence？　　In 1981, William Strauss and Neil Howe developed the Strauss–Howe generational theory. Every 25 years, generation demands change; fresh social, political, and economic norms are created, often radically different from those that came before them. Established institutions are attacked and weakened, all in the name of freedom. The generation demanding change can be seen as cultural architects; in order to build, however, they must first destroy.　　1996, the year these architects first burst onto the scene, also happened to be the

2021-03-08Deep Dive

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